Sam Hausfather, Berry College & Jonelle Pool, Gettysburg College

Accepted for publication in Social Education

Class meetings involve a structured session where the teacher guides the class through a regular process of shared decision-making. Class meetings occurring regularly within the classroom community allow teachers to teach social skills and establish democratic values using real dilemmas of intense interest to children. This article reports on the results of the implementation of class meetings at a laboratory elementary school in the Southeast.

A Class Meeting in Action

The class meeting begins in a fifth-grade classroom with the teacher asking the children to move their chairs into a circle. The children quickly do so, pushing desks aside and talking softly with each other. Settling down in their chairs, the children become quiet as the teacher seats himself in the circle with them. Students begin with compliments to each other.

Ted: I compliment Bill for hitting a triple today . . .

Jennifer: I compliment Linda for sitting by me . . .

Karen: I compliment Mr. [teacher] for not giving us math homework today.

Bob: I compliment Jack for being my partner during math . . .

After complimenting each other, the students begin in earnest on problems they see as important. They seem eager to assume the role of making decisions for themselves, especially regarding rules for which they see no justification.

Teacher: OK, so everyone's done it [given compliments]. Let's see what's on the agenda today. Bob, you have the issue of wearing hats in school on the agenda. Is that still important?

Bob: Yes.

Teacher: Would you tell us about it?

Bob: Well, last year, if you wore hats for about two seconds you would be told "Take it off!" And who thinks whether you should be able to wear hats or not?

Teacher: So what you're saying is, you think people should be able to wear hats in school? ... We can certainly discuss this and see what people think, and then I can take it to a teachers’ meeting and see what they say.

Bob: Well, they haven't told me or him that we couldn't wear hats yet but I'm sure that they will.

Teacher: Let's go around and if people have comments or suggestions about whether they should be allowed to wear hats or not or something to add, they should raise their hand . . .

Ralph: It doesn't distract anyone to wear a hat. If you go, "Hooray, America just won the war," then that's distracting. But if you just wear a hat, that shouldn't . . .

Katie: Well, you could distract people with your hats. If you wore a really cool hat to school, other people might like it and they would sit there watching you . . .

Ralph: Last year, when teachers said you couldn't wear hats, they got like a new hat and they wanted to wear it. But they couldn't. But mama at home says, "That's a nice hat, why don't you wear it to school?" And then you take it to school and your teacher says, "Take it off," and you can't wear your new hat until you get home. And that's sick.

Teacher: Any other comments? Let me make one. I like to wear hats myself, but generally when I go in a building, I take off my hat. Just so you'll know, it's kind of an old tradition, a way of showing respect, when people go in buildings they take off their hats. I know a lot of people don't do that anymore, but I just wanted to mention that so that you'll understand why the rule might have come about.

Connor: Only at lunch is the only one I've heard, that you don't wear hats during lunch. I agree with it that you should be able to wear hats . . .

Teacher: OK, so, "wear hats but take them off at lunch" wins. OK, I will take that to the teachers' meeting.

Bob: What if the other teachers say no?

Jack: Then you can't wear hats.

Teacher: That's right. If it's a school rule, then I can talk about it at the teachers' meeting, but if all the teachers vote against me, then that's what we have to live with. Let's go on to the next agenda item . . . (Videotape transcription, 8/27/91).

This class meeting went on to deal with a highly charged problem. Several of the boys had been going around the playground asking younger children if they were "prostitutes," and then laughing at their responses. Three girls put this problem on the agenda, and it brought up intense discussion, including explanations from the boys involved and outrage from the other children.

Teacher: So, did all four of you do it?

Connor: Can I speak for myself? I was with them when they did it. I asked the girls, then I was with them. They told me what they were doing. Then I left.

Mark: Yes you did, you were the first to do it.

Connor: I was playing baseball and . . . I admit, I went over to them and asked them, and told them what it was, and they said no . . .

Teacher: How many kids think sometimes it hurts kids to be made fun of? (All hands). You know the old sticks and stones break your bones. It sounds like a pretty serious thing to be discussing it with little kids at school. . . . Let's see if we can figure out a solution that makes sure that something like this doesn't happen again . . .

Linda: Try to find all the people they said it to and say they're sorry that they did it. I was going up to people and saying say no.

Teacher: So basically you think they should try to apologize to all the kids they did it to. For making fun of them . . .

Cathy: They were asking mostly fourth graders.

Teacher: We have one solution down. I want to go around and see if there is someone who has a different solution or comment. I see there are a lot of people who want to comment on it. So raise your hand if you have a comment or a solution.

Connor: I have a comment and a solution. I did ask one person . . . I think our solution should be to miss a day of recesses and write an apology.

Nate: That's not related to the problem.

Teacher: Yes, that's related because they did it during recess time.

Mark: Well, I did it, and I agree with the solution. First of all, Connor said it to more than one person. I don't agree with what Connor said for a solution, because I think it's too harsh. I agree with whoever said apologize.

Ralph: It's kind of stupid to tell kids that kind of stuff. When they tell one person they'll tell another and they'll tell the teacher and they'll get in trouble . . .

Linda: I just wonder why you guys were asking people? Just because Connor said something, it doesn't mean you have to go around asking all these people. Why did you go around asking all these people? You just thought it was funny or what?

Connor: . . . I'm sorry for the people that didn't know that and I'm sorry for starting it and it wasn't right. I'm saying I'm responsible for some of it but not all of it.

Mark: I want to say I'm sorry for asking people about it.

Ted: I want to say I'm sorry too. (Videotape transcription, 8/27/91).

The solution the class voted on was for the group of boys to make a general apology to each classroom. Although some tried making excuses, they all admitted that they knew what they had done, and they accepted the problem-solving process.

Promoting Democratic Values

Educational theorists, practitioners, and psychologists have long noted an important link between classroom climate and student growth in democratic values and attitudes (Dewey, 1916; Dreikurs, Grunwald, and Pepper, 1971; Glasser, 1969; and Kohlberg, 1975). Early on, Dewey asserted that "we never educate directly, but indirectly by means of the environment" (Dewey, 1916, p.19). In a comprehensive review of related research, Angell (1991) reviewed theory and research articulating the relationship between classroom climate and citizenship outcomes, noting that students participating in democratic classrooms evidence higher levels of moral reasoning, prosocial behavior, and sense of community. Class meetings can provide the link between an ethical classroom environment and democratic reasoning by students.

The model of class meetings studied here was developed and used in Sacramento city schools (Bubbico, Meder, and Platt, 1982), and disseminated in California through a Title IV-C project grant (Nelsen, Lott, and Glenn, 1993). The model draws heavily upon the work of Rudolf Dreikurs (Dreikurs, Grunwald, and Pepper, 1971; Dreikurs and Cassel, 1972). Dreikurs saw students as basically social beings, motivated by a central desire to belong. Helping students recognize the goals of their own behavior and promoting self-direction, self-control, and cooperation among students allow every student a sense of worth and membership (Dreikurs, Grunwald, and Pepper, 1971). Regular class meetings in which students can participate in decision making allow for the development of a group ethic focused on values, as well as the growth of moral reasoning envisioned by Lawrence Kohlberg (Kohlberg, 1975). Kohlberg’s approach assumed that progress through six stages of moral judgment could be facilitated by providing students with opportunities for cognitive conflict and role taking in classrooms. Kohlberg recommended the use of hypothetical moral dilemmas to initiate these opportunities. However, class meetings have the advantage of encouraging students to solve real dilemmas of intense interest to their own lives. Schools not only influence what students know, but also how they act. Through class meetings, students can develop a group ethic, valuable social skills, and the democratic values essential in our society (Wald and Hicks, 1988).

Implementing Class Meetings

After discussion and a two-hour inservice for the faculty, a system for implementing classroom democracy and social problem solving was implemented at the beginning of the school year (see Figure 1). A scheduled time of approximately 20-30 minutes twice a week was designated for class meetings in every classroom. Each class prominently displayed an "agenda" notebook, used by children to describe problems to be discussed at class meetings. During class meetings, students sat in assigned seats in a circle (on chairs or on the floor) in their classrooms. An environment of mutual respect between students and teacher was fostered at class meetings, which focused on solving problems instead of punishing wrongdoing. Two ground rules for class meetings were established (Bubbico, Meder, and Platt, 1982). First, the teacher and students practiced mutual respect, which included listening to others, taking turns, and making recommendations. Second, meetings were held so that all could work together to solve problems and, as a result, help each other. Sessions began with the opportunity for each student to compliment others in the circle. Teachers modeled the notion of compliments as statements of appreciation, thereby generating appropriate positive, nonmaterial examples. Derogatory comments were carefully defined and discouraged. Thus meetings always began with the children expressing their concern and appreciation for each other, which developed an inclusive sense of community.

After the compliments, the teacher read through agenda items, occasionally identifying some as non-negotiable though open for discussion. Children who wrote items on the agenda were first asked if their item was still important, as the passage of time often enabled students to solve problems themselves. If the item was no longer important, it was eliminated from the list; otherwise, the child was then asked to describe the problem and his or her attempt to solve it. If other children were involved, the teacher asked if the description was accurate.

Once agreement was reached on the nature of the problem, the involved parties were asked if they could agree on a solution. If they could, the matter was settled, and if not, suggestions from other members of the class were solicited. The teacher encouraged students to raise hands and suggest solutions or comment on the issue at hand. The teacher made clear that solutions had to be related to the problem, responsible, and reasonable in order to be considered by the group. The teacher played an active, facilitator-type role, explicitly questioning solutions and repeatedly using whole class questioning to involve all students in the process. For example, "How many people think this solution will help Ted?" Only those solutions deemed appropriate by the teacher were to be considered.

After a list of solutions was generated, the class reviewed the list and then selected one of the alternatives by voting. The teacher then clarified the agreed-upon solution, recorded it in the notebook, and took final comments before moving on to the next agenda item. In addition to social problem solving, class meetings also dealt with establishing classroom rules, discussing school-wide issues, and planning for parties and field trips.

Research Procedure

Classroom meetings were implemented in six classrooms, grades kindergarten through fifth, at a small college laboratory school. The school serves a small city in the Southeast and enrolls a mixture of children from high and middle socioeconomic strata. During the first quarter of implementation, a class meeting in each classroom was videotaped, and each teacher was interviewed concerning initial impressions. During the last quarter of the school year, each teacher completed a taped interview with us regarding class meetings, and a second parent survey was mailed for parents to complete. Finally, to gather information about student impressions of the class meeting model, a randomly selected sample of approximately 30 percent of the student body stratified by grade level was selected for a personal interview with a trained undergraduate student.

Research Results

The data collected on class meetings point toward both positive and negative results. Included below are summaries from the teachers, students, and parents regarding the implementation of class meetings. We conclude with a synopsis and analysis of these results in which we consider this process in light of educational directions today.

The teachers felt that there were some distinct advantages to using a class meeting format for problem solving. Children were in a position to look at their behaviors objectively, which resulted in less "tattling" to the teachers. Several teachers reported that children were taking the initiative to solve many of their minor problems on their own, without involving the class or the teacher in generating solutions. "The number of petty problems in the class is the same, but the children are not telling the teacher. They are working out solutions," said one teacher. Hearing the views of other students and discussing choices were cited as advantages for this method, as was the discussion of events that "really bothered" them. According to one teacher, "Children learn that what is acceptable to them may not be acceptable to other children." In general the teachers felt that learning how to be fair added to the children's social growth and that students appeared to show gains in the speed of decision making as the year progressed. "Children with a strong sense of justice, not necessarily the most vocal children, can be active in the class meeting," pointed out one teacher. Solutions volunteered by the students proved to be another advantage in terms of implementation. Solutions were more likely to be implemented and followed when they came from the students themselves. The process of modeling compliments was universally cited by the teachers as a methodology that improved the climate of their classrooms and helped students to be more positive with each other.

Teachers also enumerated some disadvantages of class meetings. Class meetings took time from the instructional day, and two teachers commented on its time-consuming nature. Sometimes the agenda process became unwieldy, with some teachers finding it necessary to use a "mass forgiveness" approach to clear a lengthy agenda. A related problem appeared to be the time lapse between writing the problem on the agenda and the meeting in which it actually was discussed. Two teachers routinely screened problems before students wrote them in the agenda book, attempting to handle some problems individually. At times, these teachers felt that individually working with students on problems may have been more efficient time-wise, and that for some children it may have been better not to involve an audience of peers. Keeping the meetings positive and not punitive was challenging for some of the teachers, and this seemed to depend on the personalities of the individuals within the class.

Thirty students, five from each grade, responded to an oral interview regarding class meetings. When asked why class meetings had been held, approximately 65 percent of students were able to verbalize that the purpose of class meetings was to solve problems. When asked how class meetings help the class, the students gave a wider variety of answers, ranging from "talking about and clarifying problems" to "suggesting solutions for problems" to "telling our feelings." Three students said they did not know why we had class meetings, and two students felt that class meetings were used to "be punished by the children."

A large majority of students was aware of the purpose of class meetings and said they had used the process for solving problems. Twenty-two of the 30 students reported that, at some time during the year, they had either put a problem on the agenda or been involved in a problem on the agenda. A wide variety of answers surfaced when students were asked how they felt about class meetings. Five students told the interviewer that it was "good to get it settled," and eight students said they felt "bad, but it had to be solved." Five more students reported that it was "ok, after you work it out." Two students didn't care, one reported boredom, one was upset, and another was scared.

Most students reported positive changes accruing from the class meeting process, although individual students' reactions to meetings seemed related to their own personality and ability to solve problems. Twenty-three students felt that class meetings changed things, stating that "it helps us in case it happens to us" and "stops people from doing things to each other." Three students didn't know if class meetings changed things, and six students felt class meetings did not cause significant change. One student told our interviewer that class meetings "helped keep discipline," and another acknowledged that class meetings "made me better friends with some of the people."

A small number of parents (11 of the 108 families) responded to the parent questionnaire that was mailed out during the last two weeks of the school year. Seven parents felt that class meetings were very important or important parts of their children's education, and several reported the use of an agenda at home in solving social problems. A number of parents shared stories of their child initiating a family meeting at home to solve a problem of importance within the family. Parents also mentioned that because of class meetings their children were more aware of conflict, made efforts to solve problems calmly rather than yelling, and were more prone to apologize. Two parents reported that class meetings seemed to assume the guilt of the child from the very beginning, causing children to apologize for things that they may not have done to escape the limelight of the class meeting. Two parents felt that the practice of sending children to other classrooms, specifically younger children to older children's classrooms, was "scary and humiliating" for their children.

Conclusions

Class meetings were found to be effective vehicles for promoting social problem solving and effective decision making, showing students that alternatives to their behavior exist. Teachers reported that students took more initiative and became more proficient at solving their social problems, resulting in an improved classroom climate. Students actively used the process for solving their social problems and generally saw positive changes resulting from class meetings. Parents acknowledged social problem solving as an important part of their children's education and reported improvements at home in solving problems. The class meeting process, however, was not implemented without problems. The press of time and the number of problems to be dealt with sometimes constrained teachers' abilities to use class meetings effectively. The process was not found to be effective in all instances. The needs of individual children sometimes call for a more private approach. A few children occasionally felt trampled by the process, experiencing class meetings as punishment more than help.

The role of the teacher remains important in retaining a positive climate for problem solving in the classroom. Teachers must be active decision makers in maintaining the class meeting process. The teacher needs to decide which path will be most beneficial for each child, and act accordingly. Class meetings cannot be seen as a static structure through which all must pass. Teachers must remain responsive to the needs of the children involved. Teachers were aware of how hard it sometimes is to remain positive, not punitive. Growing into the role of active facilitator in the process of classroom democracy is not easy, yet the teachers appeared committed to developing effective class meetings.

Democracy is a messy process. It can be boring and burdensome for children, as well as time consuming, hard, and complex work for the teacher (Lickona and Paradise, 1980). Yet, if we are committed to teaching the principles of democracy, we must do more than merely preach democracy. Behaving democratically is a way of life. Schools must model and practice democracy with students (National Council for the Social Studies, 1983). Social problem solving lays the basis for becoming a responsible citizen. A class meeting model addressing social problem solving can reveal a method effective in involving students in seeing alternative viewpoints, promoting positive classroom relations, and becoming active decision-makers in their world.

References

Angell, Ann V. "Democratic Climates in Elementary Classrooms: A Review of Theory and Research." Theory and Research in Social Education 19 (Summer 1991): 241-266.

Bubbico, Michael, Frank Meder, and John Platt. General Guidelines for Class Meetings. Unpublished manuscript, Sacramento City Unified School District, California, 1982.

Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. New York: Free Press, 1916.

Dreikurs, Rudolf, and Pearl Cassel. Discipline Without Tears. 2nd ed. New York: Hawthorn, 1972.

Dreikurs, Rudolf, Bernice Grunwald,and Floy C. Pepper. Maintaining Sanity in the Classroom: Illustrated Teaching Techniques. New York: Harper and Row, 1971.

Glasser, William. Schools Without Failure. New York: Harper and Row, 1969.

Kohlberg, Lawrence. "The Cognitive-Developmental Approach to Moral Education." Phi Delta Kappan 56 (June 1975): 670-677.

Lickona, Thomas, and Muffy Paradise. "Democracy in the Elementary School." In Moral Education: A First Generation of Research and Development, edited by Ralph L. Mosher. New York: Praeger, 1980.

National Council for the Social Studies. "The NCSS Position Statement on Democratization of Schools." In Democratic Education in Schools and Classrooms. Bulletin no. 70, edited by Mary Hepburn. Washington, D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies, 1983.

Nelsen, Jane, Lynn Lott, and H. Stephen Glenn. Positive Discipline in the Classroom. Rocklin, CA: Prima, 1993.

Wald, Ken, and Carol Hicks. "Democratic Discipline: The Class Council." Rethinking Schools 2 (September/October 1988): 5.

Figure 1

CLASS MEETINGS

1. Time: 20-30 minutes, 2 to 3 times per week.

2. Physical Setting: A circle is essential.

3. Agenda: children put name and problem on agenda.

*"Put it on the agenda."

*Minutes kept in notebook.

4. Ground rules:

*Teacher and students practice mutual respect.

*Class meetings to help each other, not to punish.

5. Compliments start every class meeting:

*Statements of appreciation.

*Call on each student, allowed to pass.

6. Agenda:

a. Read agenda items.

b. Ask child if still important.

c. Ask child to tell class exactly what problem is.

d. Ask person involved if description was accurate.

e. Ask involved parties if agree on solution.

*Yes, vote, 

*No, suggestions from class.

f. Go around two times calling on raised hands.

*Teacher takes active role.

*Helpful? Related, responsible, reasonable?

g. Read through solutions, vote.

h. Go around one time for comments, then next item.